AZMAN Ujang, in “Action please on safe m-cycle riding” (Nov 20, theSun), has highlighted the public issue in Malaysia which causes the most grief, tragedy, senseless loss and financial cost. Well done.
Since I started driving here a few years ago, I have seen antics of some motorcyclists that defy belief. Their vehicles are like two-wheeled missiles that race up behind my car silently, and, given the heavy traffic in Kuala Lumpur, usually unseen.
By the time I noticed them, they have already performed their dangerous and speedy manoeuvre.
Sometimes arrogance and a sense of entitlement are on display too, as the motorcyclists turn and leer or gesture at vehicles that did not react instantly to their sudden arrival and make their pathway through heavy traffic easy and prioritised, as if they are deserving of VIP treatment on the roads.
But this is not to say that motorcyclists are solely to blame.
We all know how busy and unpredictable Klang Valley roads are.
There is the endless traffic, the complex network of roads, turns, off ramps, gantries and roadworks, and construction that can challenge and perplex even the most experienced driver.
And no doubt, four-wheeled vehicles are sometimes driven in unsafe manner.
In other words, there are other factors that contribute to motorcyclist deaths and maiming.
In Australia, we managed to reduce road fatalities, including the two-wheeled type, many years ago with anti-drinking driving campaigns, anti-dangerous driving campaigns, police media work with welcome media cooperation, massive police operations especially on public holidays and increased and more frequent penalties by the courts.
In short, a “whole of society approach” was necessary, and not without significant cost.
Perhaps this year is not a good time, but hopefully this issue can be given priority by the government next year.
Indeed, it is an interesting comparison to make regarding all the inconvenience, economic cost and ruined lives that Malaysians have endured this year to control the spread of the coronavirus, which has caused more than 300 deaths and counting, many of them among older people with co-morbidities, whereas little seems to be done about a problem which causes thousands of lives to be lost annually, many of them youngsters in the prime of their life with many years of potential contribution to work, society and family all wasted in an instant of foolhardiness.
As a foreigner, this is one issue on which I feel safe to make a public stand.
I would be happy to contribute to any campaign or event to address this issue.
Simon Wood
Kuala Lumpur
